Of Death and Rebirth
by ms. george
Summary: Dean has always been Dean, but after his most recent stint as Michael's meat-suit he discovers he might just be something more. Azrael is an ancient being, far older than any of his brothers. He's waking back up, and is determined to clean up his sibling's messes through whatever means necessary. Story has Destiel in later chapters, but is not mainly romance. Sabriel included to.


The worlds turning was but a blip upon his memory, but even he was aware that quite some time had passed since his fall from grace. He extended his existence beyond the tree that had been his domicile for the extent of his self imposed exile, and searched the world over for his core. He located it in the body of a mortal man who was currently being occupied by his brother Michael. He then simply pushed Michael from the man's body and sent the human a map of sorts, detailing the long journey to reach the tree he currently occupied. Once finished with that, he turned his attentions towards Heaven, Hell, The Empty, and Purgatory in hopes to get a small peak at the balance of things before returning. What he found was most displeasing.

* * *

 _Flashing lights and a ripping pain deep in his being. He was falling from something- something important was just on the edge of his memory. A place- no, an object… maybe a person? Fortingall. That was the word he was remembering. If only he could remember what it meant! He felt it had something to do with an old cemetary, and maybe a church? An image of a tree flashed across his mind's eye. The tree was strange, it looked like several trees had fused together into one. It felt familiar… comforting almost. Like home._ _ **Fortingall. Find me. Awake! Find me at Fortingall! We must become one once more! Awake!**_

Dean's eyes snapped open as he awoke with a gasp. He sat up, shaking off the weird dream as he investigated his surroundings. He was in some sort of penthouse suite. The room had large windows overlooking an impressive view of a city, and a massive coffee table occupied most of the room. The room was unfamiliar to Dean and he had no idea how he had got there. The last thing he remembered was facing down Michael with the spear- and that was it. Dean pulled himself up to a stand and looked down at his feet. He was wearing a suit. Not just any old thrift store bargain either, but an actual tailored suit and loafers to match. This could only mean one thing. The hole in his memory, the penthouse, the clothing- it could only mean that Michael had somehow gotten back in. Dean could only hope that everyone else was safe. He glanced around, hoping to spot a phone or something he could use to check the date, and maybe make a call to Sam with. No such luck though, archangels probably didn't need phones or calendars. Whatever, Dean still needed a way to get back to the bunker- and if Michael didn't have a phone then that meant he probably didn't have a car either. Which meant Dean was gonna have to use the all purpose five finger discount and snag himself a ride.

Dean made his way over to the door to leave but paused when he heard voices outside.

"Hey man, what do you think is taking the boss so long in there?"

"I don't know! Why don't you go ask him yourself?"

Dean cursed under his breath and pulled away from the door. Of course Michael had goons, and with his luck lately- they were probably armed and super-monsters. God-fucking dammit, what did he have to do to get a lucky break for once? He just needed to think, he could maybe bluff his way out- no that wouldn't work, the fugglies could probably smell that he wasn't Michael anymore. Son of a bitch, he was fuckin screwed. Dean started pacing. He ran an agitated hand through his hair and let out a disgusted grunt when it came back covered in hair product. It was like Michael had dumped a whole bottle of the stuff onto his head!

"Fucking gross. Ugh, Imma need a shower," and a beer he added as an afterthought. _Or maybe more._

Dean suddenly froze as he felt a small breeze coming from above. He looked up and spotted an air vent. _No way._ He grabbed one of the expensive looking chairs in the room and placed it below the air vent. Standing on the chair, Dean pulled the cover off the vent and pulled himself up to look down the air shaft. The corridor was narrow, and it would be a tight squeeze, but Dean was pretty sure he would fit. Dean let the cover fall to the floor as he pulled himself fully into the narrow shaft and began shuffling forward, trying to make as little noise as possible. He was crawling for what felt like eternity before he came across another cover.

Dean peered into the room below to check if it was empty, but decided to keep going. He wanted as much distance as possible between him and Michael's goons. He pulled himself along past several more vent covers before stopping and looking down into another room. The room looked a conference area, but was currently empty and would have to do. He pulled the cover off and lowered himself carefully to the floor. After a small pause to listen for voices, he pulled the door open to look up and down the hallway. The coast clear- he hurried to the nearest elevator and pressed the down button. When the doors opened he stepped inside and hit the button for the lobby. He was gonna have to move fast once out of the building, and pray that no one noticed him jacking a car. He moved through the lobby quickly and pushed through the doors, now outside- he glanced around and began to look for a more secluded area to find a car.

Dean wound up choosing some douche electric car out of convenience, but the moment he was back to his baby- he was setting this travesty on fire. He was on his way home and already looking forward to a long, hot shower and a cool glass of whiskey.


End file.
